What about some story that Clarett's best friend was killed/died the week of the Fiesta Bowl, and Ohio State wouldn't let him go home for the funeral? APacino would know ... supposedly Clarett was never the same guy after that ...

I heard this on Sandy Clough on 950 The Fan ... I was streaming it Friday morning.

They also had Tom Nalen in a radio interview! I didn't think they did those thiongs, but it was Nalen. Some of the nuggets Nails mentioned:

- "No comment" on the QB situation, but he loves Jake

- He doesn't think he's a HOF candidate ...

- If Zimmerman isn't in the Hall, why even have a Hall?

- He plans - right now - to play out the 3-year contract

- Lepsis listens to Coldplay on his i-Pod

- If not football, he wanted to go into law enforcement, FBI hopefully

- He only re-signed because he thinks this team can go back and win another Lombardi. He doesn't need the $$

FBI huh? Isn't Keith Bishop in the FBI now??

I guess as retired Broncos they love busting former Raider players after their careers are over.

What about some story that Clarett's best friend was killed/died the week of the Fiesta Bowl, and Ohio State wouldn't let him go home for the funeral? APacino would know ... supposedly Clarett was never the same guy after that ...

I heard this on Sandy Clough on 950 The Fan ... I was streaming it Friday morning.

They also had Tom Nalen in a radio interview! I didn't think they did those thiongs, but it was Nalen. Some of the nuggets Nails mentioned:

- "No comment" on the QB situation, but he loves Jake

- He doesn't think he's a HOF candidate ...

- If Zimmerman isn't in the Hall, why even have a Hall?

- He plans - right now - to play out the 3-year contract

- Lepsis listens to Coldplay on his i-Pod

- If not football, he wanted to go into law enforcement, FBI hopefully

- He only re-signed because he thinks this team can go back and win another Lombardi. He doesn't need the $$

FBI huh? Isn't Keith Bishop in the FBI now??

I guess as retired Broncos they love busting former Raider players after their careers are over.

Call Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or e-mail him at pwoody @timesdispatch.com
"Fiery Scenes of Seduction" is the title of a book of poems written by Kerry Carter.

Thousands of books of poetry have been written, but what sets this one apart is that Carter is a pro football player.

Or rather, he was a pro football player.

Carter was attempting to earn a roster spot with the Washington Redskins when he suffered a season-ending, and probably career-ending, knee injury last Sunday.

Carter is in better shape than most athletes for life after football.

He already has a degree from Stanford, a fledgling acting career, his published book and a clothing business.

He might not be able to make ends meet simply from his writing, though. As of Friday, his 128-page book of poems ranked 499,709th on Amazon's sales list.

That's not as bad as it sounds. A week earlier, Carter's book sales had no ranking on Amazon.

Carter is the latest example of the fragility of an athlete's career. When the ligaments in Carter's knee collapsed, he hadn't even been hit. He simply planted his foot in the artificial surface of Paul Brown Stadium, and his knee caved in.

He will have surgery, courtesy of the Redskins, the team that cut him Tuesday. Coach Joe Gibbs expressed his sadness that things had worked out as they had.

Soon, hundreds of young players will be cut from the 32 NFL teams. Most will be anonymous performers who once were stars in high school and college who soon will be out of work.

It's easy to lose sight of just what is at stake. The lowest paid member of an NFL team earns $235,000 per season. Jobs that pay as well are difficult to find in the real world.

Making the transition more difficult is that so many of these young men have been trained to be nothing but football players.

This is why academic integrity at colleges and universities is so important.

For every Kerry Carter equipped with a degree from one of the elite institutions in the world, there are hundreds of young players who are short, sometimes surprisingly far short, of earning a degree.

An even larger problem is that some who have degrees were pushed through classes in an ambiguous major, leaving them prepared to do little other than run, block or tackle.

The value of a player's eligibility almost always will trump the value of a player's education, and that is not just in football.

Wise athletes prepare for the day when they no longer are athletes. The problem is that even wise young athletes have a difficult time realizing their mortality.

No better example of that exists than Maurice Clarett. Few have squandered the trove of opportunities available more thoroughly or more publicly than Clarett. He blew an opportunity at Ohio State and practically was disdainful of the second chance offered him by the Denver Broncos.

Clarett will no longer be remembered as the freshman running back who scored the game-winning touchdown for the Buckeyes against Miami in the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 3, 2003.

Instead, he will be remembered as the former football player who was arrested wearing a bullet-proof vest and carrying four loaded guns and a hatchet. And, for comic relief, it will be noted that when he resisted arrest and was shot with a Taser, the Taser did not work because Clarett was wearing the bullet-proof vest.

Clarett's downfall is a cautionary tale.

Thousands of young athletes see themselves as sure-fire college stars and eventual NFL millionaires.

Few realize that dream. Not all of them end up in jail with futures as dismal as the one facing Clarett. But too few of them are as prepared for life after football as Carter.

Every college athlete does not need to be a poet. But every college athlete needs to think about life outside of his sport. And he needs to realize that the ultimate responsibility for his education resides not with the coach, the system or the school but with himself.

My youngest son is a junior and playing high school football here in Tulsa. For some reason, they have been having great luck with special "drop in" guests at their practices. Earlier this year, Steve Largent came to watch their practice aned gave them a really cool "work hard an follow your dreams" speech after practice. Pretty cool.

Just got back in town and was asking my son about practice this week and he told me they had a special guest come to speak to them Wednesday. He said it was a famous running back kid from Ohio State that played for the Broncos then messed up really bad, went to prison, and was now getting his life back together (he was actually speaking at a local church that evening). Anyway, I said - "it wouldn't happen to be Maurice Clarett, would it?" Sure enough. After that, the team watched the "30 for 30" special and saw his story.

My son said he was a nice, down to earth guy and he really sounded like he is trying to get his life back together. Hopefully, he can find a way to make a positive difference.

My youngest son is a junior and playing high school football here in Tulsa. For some reason, they have been having great luck with special "drop in" guests at their practices. Earlier this year, Steve Largent came to watch their practice aned gave them a really cool "work hard an follow your dreams" speech after practice. Pretty cool.

Just got back in town and was asking my son about practice this week and he told me they had a special guest come to speak to them Wednesday. He said it was a famous running back kid from Ohio State that played for the Broncos then messed up really bad, went to prison, and was now getting his life back together (he was actually speaking at a local church that evening). Anyway, I said - "it wouldn't happen to be Maurice Clarett, would it?" Sure enough. After that, the team watched the "30 for 30" special and saw his story.

My son said he was a nice, down to earth guy and he really sounded like he is trying to get his life back together. Hopefully, he can find a way to make a positive difference.

It's really pretty funny. I have a 350lb son playing Guard for Oklahoma State who obviously has the size and talent. However, my youngest son (190lb junior) has been fighting with his two older brothers all his life and has certainly developed his "youngest brother" toughness. If I really had to say it, I would have to say my youngest has the best positional blocking technique. He routinely stonewalls 300lb nose tackles and i just sit in the stands and laugh. He's like my own little sub-200 pound Tom Nalen.

It's really pretty funny. I have a 350lb son playing Guard for Oklahoma State who obviously has the size and talent. However, my youngest son (190lb junior) has been fighting with his two older brothers all his life and has certainly developed his "youngest brother" toughness. If I really had to say it, I would have to say my youngest has the best positional blocking technique. He routinely stonewalls 300lb nose tackles and i just sit in the stands and laugh. He's like my own little sub-200 pound Tom Nalen.

It's really pretty funny. I have a 350lb son playing Guard for Oklahoma State who obviously has the size and talent. However, my youngest son (190lb junior) has been fighting with his two older brothers all his life and has certainly developed his "youngest brother" toughness. If I really had to say it, I would have to say my youngest has the best positional blocking technique. He routinely stonewalls 300lb nose tackles and i just sit in the stands and laugh. He's like my own little sub-200 pound Tom Nalen.

On a serious note.
Congrats!
I wish you guys all the best luck in the world...

Funny story, he was practicing all summer at 9 technique OLB (which he was doing great at). The team had two big kids 260-280 playing center but they were having issues with bad snaps. All three of my boys have also doubled as long snappers (I always tried to convince them this was the perfect college meal ticket), so they threw my son in there for competition. His snaps were perfect, and he was actually physically stronger than the fatties ahead of him. Also, he is fast enough to play safety / receiver, so his downfield blocks were textbook. So, now he has become their indispensible center, and he doesn't care as long as he is playing and having fun.

So, if I were his coach I would have him at TE, Slot WR, OLB, or Safety, but hey, he's having fun and he loves him some pancakes!

My youngest son is a junior and playing high school football here in Tulsa. For some reason, they have been having great luck with special "drop in" guests at their practices. Earlier this year, Steve Largent came to watch their practice aned gave them a really cool "work hard an follow your dreams" speech after practice. Pretty cool.

Just got back in town and was asking my son about practice this week and he told me they had a special guest come to speak to them Wednesday. He said it was a famous running back kid from Ohio State that played for the Broncos then messed up really bad, went to prison, and was now getting his life back together (he was actually speaking at a local church that evening). Anyway, I said - "it wouldn't happen to be Maurice Clarett, would it?" Sure enough. After that, the team watched the "30 for 30" special and saw his story.

My son said he was a nice, down to earth guy and he really sounded like he is trying to get his life back together. Hopefully, he can find a way to make a positive difference.

My boys have all played for a "down" program at Tulsa Edison. They just finished a two year stint in 6A and got rolled by Jenks both years. Jenks is a powerhouse program with a massive budget and an incredible feeder program. Anyway, when I used to coach my kids in middle school, we could beat the Jenks teams, but in high school they just have too much talent, conditioning, and coaching - great program. The funny thing is, percentage wise, they don't send a ton of guys to D1 programs. They aren't always physical freaks, just in excellent condition in an excellent program. It's fun to watch Jenks and Union battle it out every year.